One of the most influential African musicians of his generation, Ali Farka Touré was the archetypal "desert blues" player.
His fame outside of Mali, in West Africa, spread when he collaborated with US guitarist and producer Ry Cooder for the 1994 release Talking Timbuktu. However, this was not a springboard for a glittering career based in the West. Touré has said that for most people Timbuktu is in the middle of nowhere, but him it was the centre of the world. His loyalty and duty to the people of this region of Mali was publicly demonstrated when he came the Mayor of his home town of Niafunké and spent his own money providing sewers and electricity generators for the population.
After Talking Timbuktu, Touré had a number of collaborations with kora player Toumani Diabaté which were very well received and his last album Savane, was released posthumously in 2006.
Amandrai is a track sung in the Tamasheck language, one of many that Touré sings in on the album.
Cartridge: Hana EL moving coil
Phono amp: Graham Slee Accession + Elevator EXP
Turntable: PTP Audio Solid12 + SME M2-12-r tonearm
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeletevery nice music from the middle of nowhere. I like the relaxing mood of this title and your new turntable in combination with the Hana system is a big step forward to achieve this aim. I'm sure this is definitly more obivious in your listening room than in this digital version, although this video demonstrates this clearly.
Is this a reissue from world circuit or an original 1994 record ?
Best wishes and I'm excited what comes next...
Michael